Bardstown City Council hears couple’s plans for pedal-powered taxi service

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 — If you’re in Bardstown this week during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, you may see a new mode of transportation available for hire. A new company called Bourbon City Pedalers will operate a pedicab, which is a pedal-operated vehicle that serves as a taxi for hire.

Joshua and Victoria Hoff appeared at the Bardstown City Council’s Zoom meeting Tuesday night to answer questions about their new taxi service — the first such taxi service in Bardstown.

The council’s questions focused largely on the novelty of the idea, and questions about laws and ordinances that might apply to a pedicab.

City Attorney Audrey Haydon told the council there were no city ordinances that apply in this situation. Being pedal-operated like a bicycle, a pedicab must follow the existing rules for the road for bicycles.

According to Victoria Hoff, the company has a cab and is ready to put it on the streets for this weekend’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival — if the council gave its approval.

The company will carry $1 million in liability insurance coverage. Her husband, Joshua, will be the primary driver.

Each pedicab is also outfitted with a battery-powered brushless D.C. motor to provide an assist to the driver getting a loaded cab in motion. The pedicab has a top speed of 15 to 20 mph.

Bardstown Police Chief Kim Kraeszig said she was familiar with pedicabs and said they hadn’t cause any issues with they operated in Louisville during events.

There’s no special license required to operate a pedicab, though Hoff said her
Hoff told the council that the pedicab will operate primarily in the city’s historic district. The cab won’t be making long drives out to pick up fares at the city’s hotels, she said.

“Ideally, we would like to offer tours of the city’s historic area,” she said.

The council approved a motion to allow the business to operate with one pedicab for the time being once they business provides proof of liability insurance.

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